


Stay.

by christmas_jim_spook, LemonVibez003



Category: Voltron - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brennan Black, Earth, Kinda, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), PROTECT THEM ALLLLL, Pining Lance (Voltron), Slow Burn, Unrequited Love, at first, keith is dating someone, kill me I have good ideas but can't write for shit, lance goes home, lance is not happy, lance sees his family, many bonding moments, my chapters are really short tho, my loves, voltron goes to earth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-01-18 10:54:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12386661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christmas_jim_spook/pseuds/christmas_jim_spook, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonVibez003/pseuds/LemonVibez003
Summary: Keith is dating someone. Lance is not happy.Alternatively,AU where Keith is dating someone from earth and Lance gets jealous. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Keith and Lance get close....





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first fic, so bear with me please! The chapters will be short but I will try and update every day. I might miss a few days since college application deadlines are coming up. When I write extremely short chapters, I'll release 2 at a time. ENJOYYY

 

Lance has been awake for a long time trying to figure something out. Keith has been talking to someone a lot recently. Not any of the Paladins or Allura or Coran, but video chatting someone. He can hear Keith talking through his door whenever he passes by but can't hear exactly  _ what _ they're saying. He would guess they’re from Earth, but Keith liked to be alone back then. Maybe they’re from one of the planets they helped? Who could it be? Does he know them? And why are they talking to  _ Keith _ of all people? How are they video chatting? Do we even have video chat on the castle? So many questions ran through his head.

 

The next morning Lance wakes up way earlier than usual and can’t fall back asleep. When he gets to the kitchen, Pidge is already there eating space goo and typing away on her computer. Yawning, he starts shoveling food into his mouth. The thing that finally wakes him up is Hunk entering the kitchen saying, “I think Keith’s got a girlfriend!” 

 

“WHAT?” Lance says, choking on my food.

 

“Well yea, he’s always talking to that person after dinner, right?” He responds

 

“Yea but that doesn’t mean they’re  _ dating _ !”

 

“Yea? Well would he say ‘I love you’ to someone he’s ‘just friends’ with?” He questions with a knowing smirk. Lance’s jaw dropps and he screams “WHAT” yet again. His stomach clenches and he feels like throwing up. Keith doesn't have a family, so he couldn't have said it to family.  _ Maybe it was a friendly ‘I love you’ _ . Lance has told Hunk ‘i love you’ in a bro way before. 

 

Hunk responds by saying, “Jealous he got a girl before you? Hahaha.” _ Yea, that must be it _ . 

 

“Whatever. I’m gonna go sleep s’more” Lace says with a yawn, knowing full well he won’t sleep. The whole way to his room, he thinks about what Hunk had said.  _ I think he’s right, I’m just jealous. How could Keith get a girlfriend before me? He wouldn’t know flirting if it punched him in the face.  _ He passes Keith’s room and hears… laughing??  _ I’ve never heard him laugh before!  _ Getting angry at everything and nothing, he storm off towards his room, slam the door and falls on his bed. He stares at the ceiling for what seems like forever, and before falling asleep from frustration and fatigue.

  
  


\--------

 

Lance has figured it out after a good night’s (morning’s?) sleep. He used to aggravate and fight with Keith to mess with him. Which was really easy to do to be honest. Over time, he came to like spending time with him and pushing his buttons. He would never admit it out loud, but in the year they’ve spent in the castle together, he fell for him. Both his scowls and his smile.

 

The next few days after dinner, Keith goes to his room and video chats his  _ girlfriend _ . He’s been happier lately. It makes Lance frustrated because he wants it to be  _ him _ making Keith happy and giddy and actually  _ laughing _ .  Keith doesn’t get aggravated when Lance teases him anymore. He just smiles when Lance tries to fight with him. It makes Lance so angry, and he doesn’t even know why. No, that’s wrong. He does know why, He just doesn’t want to admit it. Doesn’t want to admit he’s fallen helplessly in love with someone that is taken yet again. Doesn’t want to suck up his pride and admit he feels heartbroken yet again. Doesn’t want to admit that pretending to be loud and smiley and happy all the time has stopped working  _ yet fucking again _ . He can’t do that anymore to make myself actually feel happy.  **_Maybe I’m not supposed to love_ ** **.**

 

Unlike Keith, Lance has been a lot more sad lately. He realized that even if Keith wasn’t taken, having a girlfriend means he’s probably straight. That depresses Lance even more. He  thought he had a pretty good gaydar and always thought Keith was super gay. He could just  _ tell _ .  _ Is my gaydar broken?? Maybe he’s bi and I still have a chance? Or maybe Keith is dating a guy, that would explain a lot _ .

 


	2. Chapter 2

It was only Lance and Pidge in the kitchen when Hunk came in with the worst (and best) idea ever. 

 

“Hey you guys wanna meet Keith’s girlfriend?”

 

“What are you talking about Hunk?” Pidge beats Lance to the question.

 

“I mean~” he says mischievously, “Next time Keith is video chatting we burst into the room ‘unknowingly’ and find out who she is! You can’t tell me you aren’t curious! She’s made broody, moody Keith into a happy, smiley Keith!”

 

“I’m not curious who she is.” Says an uninterested Pidge who is still typing away on her laptop.

 

Lance try to ignore the pang that goes through his heart when Hunk talks about Keith’s girlfriend like a goddess that made Keith happy. 

 

“Lance, buddy? Buddy-pal?? Come on, do this with me. If she’s really ugly then maybe you’ll feel better about the fact that keith got a girlfriend before you!”

 

Lance look up at him. He doesn’t know what to say. Should he tell Hunk that the real reason he’s upset is because he wishes Keith were dating  _ him _ instead? No. 

 

“Sure, I guess…” He says instead. Can’t be that bad… right?

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~

 

After dinner, Keith gets up, smiles at everyone and grabs the dishes and puts them aways. He heads toward his room and everyone smirks knowingly. Except Lance. He’s still bitter. Hunk leans over and whispers in his ear, “you remember the plan, right? We wait 30 minutes to make sure they’ve started their chat, then go in asking if he wants to play that new Altean board game i found.” He simply nods and looks up. Everyone is looking at them suspiciously and Hunk flashes a mischievous grin. 

 

30 minutes later, they’re in front of Keith’s door trying to hear voices through the door. When we finally do, they look at each other, nod, and step in.

 

“Yo Keith!” Hunk says as he walks in, “you wanna play this--”

 

“DO YOU EVER KNOCK GEEZ!” says a very flustered Keith. On the screen of Keith’s computer is a really hot guy with his eyebrows raised as far as they go. 

 

“Oh hey who’s this?” Hunk asks innocently.

 

“Uhh he’s…” Keith looks at the screen where the guy smiles kindly back at him. 

 

“I’m Brennan, Keith’s boyfriend.” Says the guy on the screen. “Nice to meet you guys.”

 

Hunk’s jaw is pretty much on the ground while Lance smile smugly.  _ Hah! My gaydar is never wrong! _ He takes a quick look at Keith to see he’s blushing really hard while pouting at the floor. Lance tries not to show it, but it hurts.

 

“Well, uhhh” Lance choked out, “it’s nice to meet you too, Brendon.”

 

“It’s  _ Brennan _ . I never caught your name?”

 

“The name’s Lance. And this is Hunk,” He says motioning to the big huggable guy standing next to him. “We’re his teammates.”

 

“Hey dude! It’s cool to see the face of the person who’s been making Keith here so happy all the time. We rarely saw Keith in a good mood, let alone  _ smile _ , before you! Thanks, man.” Hunk chimes in with the biggest smile. Keith sputters and goes a darker shade of red. “I gotta ask though, how do you two know each other?”  

 

“Oh! Well we actually met when Keith was still in the Garrison. I was an Engineer. When he got kicked out, we continued to date, but long-distance. I only visited his shack a few times.” Keith smiles at Brennan like a love sick idiot. This is too painful so Lance mutters quietly a ‘oh cool...well uh gotta go bye’ and heads out of the door toward his room. He sits on his bed with his head in his hands, too sad to be happy about the fact that his gaydar was on point, like always. He sits there for a good 5 minutes before he hears someone quietly slip in.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know…” Says Hunk quietly. Lance looks up at him slightly confused.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I shouldn’t have forced you to do that with me. I really didn’t know you like Keith until just now, honest… That must have been hard for you.”

 

“I  _ what _ ? How could you tell?” 

 

“It’s pretty obvious dude. I’m surprised Keith is this oblivious. Don’t worry though bro, I won’t tell anyone.” He flashes a smile and heads out the door before Lance can say anything.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next morning finds the whole crew (sans Keith) whispering to one another and giggling excitedly about Keith’s boyfriend. Everyone except Lance. He eats his space goo in silence. Hunk must have told them about yesterday. The moment Keith walks in everything goes quiet. He stops, sees everyone smirking at him and immediately turns on his heels to leave.

 

“Keith,” says Shiro in his Dad TM  voice, making Keith stop in his tracks. “Stay with us. We want to talk to you.”

 

Keith looks mortified. He cautiously sits down while everyone looks up at him with smirks. 

 

“The last fight against the galra was a hard one,” Shiro continues. The paladins nod and Keith lets out a sigh of relief that they weren’t going to talk about his relationship. “We fought long and hard, but we won. And I’m proud of us for that. So Allura and I have been talking. You paladins have been defending the universe for almost a year now. You deserve a break. We will visit earth.” There were loud cheers and shouts around the room as the paladins ran up and hugged Shiro.

 

“HOWEVER,” Shiro yelled over the noise, successfully quieting everyone down, “we can only stay for 3 days. We will dock the castle on the moon, and Allura, Coran and I will stay behind to make sure we remain undetected by the Galra and humans. Now everyone get some sleep. We wormhole early tomorrow. 

 

Lance can’t sleep. He’s finally going to see his family! He wonders what the Garrison told them…


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance goes HOMEEEE

Lance doesn’t mean to hold his breath. He never expected to see earth ever again, but here it is. A million emotions run through him as his personal pod gets closer and closer to earth. When the caribbean island of Cuba comes into view, Lance suddenly realizes he is not ready. What if his family doesn’t remember him? What if they don’t trust him? He knows he’s being ridiculous, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’s been rejected by people he loves. The beaches of Varadero get larger and larger. Lance can’t believe his eyes.  _ This must be a dream, I can’t be home…  _ He docs the pod behind a secluded hill and starts walking around his town. People are giving him weird looks and he suddenly realizes he’s still in his paladin armor. Before he knows it, his favorite pizza shack is in front of him. After all this time of being away, he still remembers his neighborhood. He breaks into a sprint--right, right, left, straight for 3 blocks, left, right, left. He stares unbelieving at the building in front of him.  _ I’m home _ . He takes cautious steps and stops in front of the door. One deep breath, then he knocks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that certain parts weren't italicized when they were supposed to be. you guys must've been a little confused sorry. NEW CHAPTER IN A MINUTEEE


	4. Chapter 4

Lance waits for a minute, but no one answers. He knocks again. Nothing.  _ Do they even live here anymore? _ He was at the garrison for 2 years and in space for 1 year. They could have moved. He starts to panic and knocks again, slightly more frantically. Dread overcomes him and he holds his head in his hands. 

 

“Shiro, Allura, I’m coming back up,” he says into his communicator. Holding back tears, he takes off his helmet and heads down the front steps. As he reaches for the gate door, he sees people in his peripheral vision. He looks up, ready to apologize to the new owners of the house but stops himself when he sees who it is. 

 

“Lance?” His mother reaches forward cautiously, as if unsure the person in front of her is indeed her son.

 

“Mama,” Lance breathes out. “MAMA!! MAMA!” He surges forward, picking up the stout woman and spinning her around. He buries his face in her shoulder and sobs. “Mama I’ve missed you so much.”

 

When he looks up, he sees tears streaming down his mother’s face. He wipes them away with his thumb and looks at her softly. “It’s okay mama. I’m okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was short. I'll add another one in a few minutes


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone is sitting in the living room, staring expectantly at Lance. He looks at his little brother Mateo who has gotten so much taller since he last saw him. He looks at his older sister, Emilia, who finally decided to grow her hair long. It looks good. He looks at his older brother, Alejandro, who grew a beard. He looks at his mother Mariana and father Lorenzo who sit next to each other, hands clasped tightly. He looks at his twin sister…. Where’s his twin sister?

 

“Where’s Lana?” 

 

“You… You don’t know,” Mariana says with slight sadness in her voice. This causes a pang to go through Lance’s heart. “She got into the Galaxy Garrison before you disappeared. She was so excited to tell you that summer when you were supposed to visit. But that summer came, and you didn’t come home. In your stead was a letter from the Garrison saying that you were dead and the details were classified.”

 

“What happened, Lance?” This was the first thing Emilia has said to him since he got here. “And what are you wearing?”

 

“It’s a long story,” Lance starts. “It’s all starts with the day Takashi Shirogane, pilot of the Kerberos Mission, crash landed back on earth after being presumed dead for a year.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

“You’re joking, right? There’s no way you fly a mechanical lion and save the universe. Are you okay? Did you hurt your head? Do you need to see a doctor?” Lance’s mom asks worriedly. 

 

“Yes mom,” Lance chuckles. “I’m fine. I can prove this all to you guys if you want?”

 

The whole family looks at each other doubtfully as if saying  _ I don’t know, do we? _

 

“The pod I came down on is hidden on the hill behind the Pizza Shack. I can show you guys the castle of lions!!” Lance gets excited all of a sudden. “OH THIS IS SO GREAT! My family can meet Shiro and see where all the magic happens!”

 

Lance deflates quickly. “Except… I’ll have to ask Allura.” He picks up his helmet and puts it on. “Shiro, Allura do you copy?” There are a few minutes of silence.

 

“Lance! What happened, are you okay? You said you were heading up an hour ago!” Allura says.

 

“Yea I couldn’t find my family but I found them on my way out,” he says softly. “Speaking of, can I bring my family up to see the castle?” He can hear Shiro and Allura muttering in the background.

 

“I don’t see why not,” Shiro speaks up. “Can they all fit in your pod?”

 

“Yea they should. See you guys in a few dobashes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hurt my wrist real bad so typing is going to be difficult for a while. I'll do my best to update everyday with long chapters. Some might be short, though. Sorry guys thanks for understanding.


	6. Chapter 6

“I just realized that you guys are going to be going into space for the first time…” Lance stops in front of the pod.

 

This causes a small panic to go around but mainly a surge in energy. Everyone is suddenly hyped up. Except Mariana.

 

“Are you sure this thing is safe?” Marianna’s motherly side comes out.

 

“Well I got here safely, didn’t I? Also, I’ve gone on tons of missions with this trusty pod.” Lance reassures, petting the machine. He steps in and turns on the control panel. “Take a seat, everyone. This might take a while.”

 

The pod door hisses closed and air rushes in. Lance tests all parts of the pod before deeming it ready for take off. With a smirk on his face, he turns to his family and says, “Hello passengers, this is your captain speaking. We are ready for takeoff in three...two...one.” The pod takes off and heads out of the atmosphere. After setting it on autopilot, he takes a seat next to Mateo and Emilia. Pointing to the window he says, “What do you think?”

 

Everyone rushes to the window, peering out. “Wow… it’s amazing!” They all mutter out words of awe.

 

“Hey,” Lance says, idea popping into his mind. “Should we go pick up Lana?”

 

\-------

 

“I probably shouldn’t be seen by anyone at the Garrison,” Lance reasons. “Mama, you and Papa should go to the visitor’s center and ask to take Lana out for a day. Say family reasons. It’s technically not lying?” The parents nod and head out. While they wait, Lance’s siblings have a lot of questions.

 

“So tell us more about your teammates!” Emilia asks. “Any of them cute?” She adds with a smirk.

 

“Well there’s Shiro, our leader. You’ll meet him when we go up to the castle. He’s a really cool dude with really nice muscles. He has a white tuft of hair in the front and a scar on the nose. He’s pretty much the dad. Then there’s Allura. She’s the princess of Altea, a planet that’s been destroyed. She’s absolutely gorgeous. I flirted with her at first but I don’t really like her anymore. You know Pidge and Hunk from the Garrison. There’s Coran, he’s like the crazy uncle. And Keith…” Lance stops, not knowing how to describe him. After a moment of silence, Emilia speaks up.

 

“You like him, don’t you. I can tell. You always have that look on you face...”

 

“I… Well, yea I _do_ like him. But-”

 

“WAIT BOYS CAN LIKE BOYS?” Mateo screams. _Of course Mateo is too young to know_.

 

“Haha yup buddy,” Alejandro speaks up. “Not all boys like boys, but if you want to like one, there’s no reason you can’t.” This gets Mateo hyped up, but before they get off track, his older sister brings the conversation back to Lance.

 

“You like him...But??” Emilia asks, worried. Just then the pod door whooshes open.

 

“What is happening, Mama? What is this?” Lana stops dead in her tracks when she sees Lance.

 

“Lance? Is that you?” Tears are streaming down her face. Lance smiles big, takes slow steps towards her and engulfs her in a big hug.

 

“Hey there, little sis.”

 

“You’re only older by two minutes, asshole.” She punches his arm lightly and hugs him again. “Oh my gosh, Lance. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. I knew you weren’t dead.” They stand there holding each other for what feels like hours before Lana wants to catch up. So Lance retells the story of becoming a voltron paladin to his twin sister on the way up to the castle.

 

“Wow that’s….amazing! My brother is saving the universe how cool. So where are we headed to now?” Lana finally asks.

 

“Well, mom needed confirmation that I wasn’t crazy. We’re going to the castle of Lions.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! There will most likely not be an update tomorrow :( I have my last ACT (which is a standardized test) before university so I'm going to be studying. I already wrote chapter 7 but I haven't had the chance to edit yet. Excuse my shitty writing, my specialty is physics, not english lol


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA SIKE THERE IS A CHAPTER TODAY!! I was barely able to finish it in time. I'm falling behind... I usually try be 3 chapters ahead of what I'm posting but now I have zero. Oops. ANYWAy enjoyyyy

“WELCOME TO MY HUMBLE ABODE!” Lance all but screams.

 

The tour of the castle is a short one. Training room: check. Kitchen: check. Bedroom: check. Lounge: check. Command room: check. When they get to the command center, Shiro and Allura are standing side by side looking powerful but inviting. “Welcome!” Allura says with a smile. “Lance has told us so much about all of you.”

 

“OH MY GOD IT’S SHIRO!” Screams Lana, shaking his hand vigorously. “It’s such an honour to meet you, sir. We learn a lot about the kerberos mission at the Garrison. I can’t believe I’ll be the only student to have met you.”

 

“Thank you, Lana. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

 

“You know my name, oh my gosh--wait how do you know my name?”

 

This causes Shiro to chuckle lightly. The sound of the door opening catches his attention. 

 

“Keith. Nice of you to finally join us. These are the McClains, Lance’s immediate family.” Shiro states, motioning to the large group of people. Keith freezes, obviously not expecting company. He looks down at his oversized pajamas and back up to the family standing in front of him and cringes.

 

“Uh hi? I’m Keith. Well, you already know that Shiro just said it…” Keith trails off, eyes on the ground.

 

Lana and Emilia look at each other and squeal, “he’s so cute!” to which both Lance and Keith blush.

 

“Why aren’t you visiting Brennan?” Lance asks. “This might be our last chance to visit earth in a very long time, if ever.”

 

Keith looks uncomfortable. He opens his mouth to say something but closes it quickly. He stands there for a while before sighing. “I..” he pauses, as if unsure of how to say what he’s thinking. He rubs his arm and continues, “I want to surprise him. But I don’t really know where he lives. He said he goes to a university called ‘And why you’ which is really confusing because who would name a University that--” His rambling is cut short with Lance’s laughter. 

 

“Keith, he probably said NYU, which is short for New York University. In New York? I can take you there after I drop off my family tomorrow. It should be nighttime right now, so there’s no point in going today. We still have two days so you can spend one night with him before we leave.”

 

“Oh. Thanks, Lance.” He directs his attention to Lance’s family. “It was nice meeting you guys. I hope you guys stay for dinner. Hunk is getting ingredients from earth and making a feast tonight, since we’ve pretty much had space goo for the last year. Uhm I’m gonna… go now?” He shuffles out of the door awkwardly. The moment he leaves, Emilia bursts.

 

“Oh my gosh he’s so cute and shy and pretty I think I’m in  _ love _ .” She swoons. Shiro and Allura laugh as if they expected nothing else.

 

“Back off girl, he’s got a boyfriend.” Lance says with a laugh that doesn’t reach his eyes. Emilia notices and finally realizes what the ‘but’ meant. Changing the subject, Lance turns to his parents. “You guys  _ are _ staying for dinner, right? And staying the night? There are extra rooms and you’ll be able to say you’ve slept in space!!”

  
Mariana and Lorenzo look at each other and grin widely.  _ I’ll take that as a yes _ .


	8. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEITH

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating earlier! But I needed to post something for Keith's birthday. My son has turned 19!! So proud of him *wipes tear*

Dinner, to put it simply, was delicious. Hunk brought much more than any of them had expected. He made turkey, sweet potato fries, mashed potatoes, gravy, milkshakes (thank you Kaltenecker), burgers, hot dogs, cake, 3 types of pie, stir fried vegetables and rice noodles. He even brought ingredients to make brunch the next day! They were lucky they had a fridge and freezer on the castle, because the 9 of them were _not_ able to finish everything. The Voltron crew and the McClain family talk merrily through the whole feast, everyone taking their time eating, enjoying every bite. 

 

“Hunk this is amazing! You’ll have to teach me sometime,” says Mariana.

 

“Wow thank you so much,” Hunk replies bashfully. “This means so much coming from you. I remember Lance bringing back leftovers from whenever he visited home. Your cooking is absolutely amazing. I would love it if we could make brunch tomorrow?”

 

“That sound lovely,” she replies with a kind smile. Seeing the end of the conversation, Keith stands up and starts clearing the table.

 

“I’ll help,” Lana and Emilia say at the same time, causing everyone around the table to laugh. Keith blushes uncomfortably and nods. The others stand up and start helping wordlessly. With so many people cleaning up at once, the job is finished within minutes.

 

With everyone sitting in the lounge, Mama and Papa invite the paladins to lunch at their humble home on the beach. “We can cook you all traditional cuban foods and teach you about the culture. Allura, Coran, I’m sure you’d like to learn about one of Earth’s many cultures.” Mariana says with a soft  smile.

 

“And Keith,” Lorenzo says, causing Keith’s head to whip up at the mention of his name, “please come too.” As Keith opens his mouth to respond, Lorenzo says, “I promise you’ll be able to see your boyfriend. We’d love to get to know you better. Anyone important to our son is important to us.” To this, Keith looks up at Lance. When Lance doesn’t meet his gaze, he turns his attention back to Lorenzo. “Thank you, Mr. McClain. I would love to come.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is going to visit his boyfriend in New York!! How exciting.
> 
> Sorry there has been so much dialogue and not much description. I'm working on it...
> 
> NEW EDIT: I have gone through so much since I last updated so I haven't had time to write. BUT I'M BACK!! Did u miss me? :P Also Liam (AestheticGrandma) is now helping with writing and editing. Yay, we're so happy to have him <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been gone so long! I just finished college applications and essays and all that really horrible crap. EVERYONE GIVE A WARM WELCOME TO LIAM! He is now my co-writer and omg he is so much help! Give him some love in the comment section <3 Enjoy this newest chapter!

Lance’s ridiculously large family turned out to be a good thing for the Paladins. Each of them were able to find swimsuits that fit. It had been years since any of them had seen a beach, and it was Allura and Coran’s first time seeing one of earth’s vast oceans. They all munched on watermelon while standing knee deep in the water. The small waves lapped at their feet and their hair swayed with the gentle summer breeze. Lance could stand there forever, watching the ocean longingly. He barely notices the small tear that escapes and runs down his face.  _ I’ve missed this _ . He quickly wipes it away and turns to his team with the brightest of smiles. 

 

“Who wants to go swimming?” With that, a cheer erupts from everyone. They race into the ocean, swimming until the shore is small on the horizon.

 

“We might have overdone it a little,” Shiro comments with a small chuckle. 

 

Keith’s eyes move away from what seemed like the never ending swim back to the shore, and lets his gaze fall upon the smiles on everyone’s face. “Let’s head back, yea?”

 

Lance takes this opportunity to challenge Keith. “Race you back mullet!” he yells out before sprinting off toward the shore. Before he gets far, Pidge yanks him underwater, causing him to splutter and pull her under in retaliation. The competition with Keith forgotten, he and Pidge start fighting underwater. By the time he and Pidge reach the shore, Keith is standing under the shade with his arms crossed and a smirk resting on his face. 

 

“Heh, I win.” He says smugly. Lance retaliates, arguing that it was Pidge’s fault. They bicker lightly the whole way back, stopping only when they smell delicious Cuban cuisine wafting out of the open window. The first thing they see entering the house is Coran crouching next to the dog. 

 

“Oh really? That’s quite fascinating indeed. And how do you go about doing that?” Coran asks the dog. In response, the dog barks twice. “Wow, you sure are tricky,” Coran comments with a hearty laugh. He then turns to the three paladins that were watching him with wide eyes. “Your dog is incredibly intelligent. I very much enjoy his company.”

 

“You can …. talk to him??” Lance asks.

 

“Oh of course! Alteans are natural translators, so we can understand any species and they can understand us. We understood you, didn’t we? Did you really think species thousands of light years away from earth would speak English?” He asks ridiculously. The paladins stand still, baffled by the response.

 

“Lunch!” yells Mariana from the kitchen. They all gather in the dining room and immediately see an elaborate lunch in front of them. Lance almost cries when he sees his favourite dish — Ropa Vieja. Nope, spoke too soon he actually cries.

  
  


If you happened to be passing by the McClain house and saw everyone at lunch, it would seem like a normal family meal. To Lance and his family, this lunch was everything. The conversation topics ranged the Paladin’s adventures in space to what they did today. It didn’t matter what they talked about, as long as they were all there together.It was decided that maybe they could stay one more day. The Galra weren’t going anywhere.


End file.
